Naval
War in Outline
French warship names
Warship
numbers & losses, 1914-18
Losses by year
Key to main characteristics including French
torpedo and gun calibres in inches
Main ship types - Dreadnoughts to Submarines

NAVAL WAR IN OUTLINE

Following
the 1904 Anglo-French Entente Cordiale, French Navy
policy was to concentrate its forces in the
Mediterranean against a likely Italian-Austrian
coalition, while maintaining a mainly defensive
position in the north (North Sea, English Channel,
Atlantic coast) where the Royal Navy would
predominate. French forces in this area initially
included seven cruisers and a number of destroyers,
torpedo boats and submarines for patrol duty in the
western English Channel. In the Mediterranean on the
other hand was the 1st Armée Navale under the
command of Adm de Lapeyrère with 21 battleships
(including four newly-commissioned dreadnoughts and 6
"Danton" class pre-dreadnoughts), 15
cruisers, around 43 destroyers and 15 submarines.

The first task of the
Mediterranean battle squadrons was to escort troop
transports carrying North African divisions to France
in time for the Battle of the Marne. By the end of
August 1914, 14 battleships, 6 armoured cruisers,
destroyers and submarines were based at Malta and
patrolling the southern Adriatic Sea to prevent any
attack by the Austrian Fleet. They also shelled
Cattaro and Lissa. In September 1914, two French
pre-dreadnoughts joined the British squadron watching
the Turkish Dardanelles to prevent the German
battlecruiser "Goeben" breaking out.

Once Italy entered the
war on the Allied side in May 1915 the French moved
to more forward bases at Brindisi on the Italian
Adriatic coast and the Greek island of Corfu. By
December 1915, the Serbs had been defeated and the
Army retreated across the mountains to the Albanian
coast. From here the French Navy evacuated the Serbs
first to Corfu, then to Bizerta in northern Tunisia,
and once reformed to Salonika in north east Greece.
An eventual total of 270,000 men were evacuated by
mainly French forces without loss.

In December 1916 the
French played the major role in resolving the
confused Greek situation. French warships arrived off
Athens, and after landing sailors and bombarding,
forced the pro-German Greek government to support
Allied policies. A number of Greek warships were
seized, commissioned into the French Navy and later
made a valuable contribution to Allied anti-U-boat
measures.

By 1918, the French
had come to play an important part in the war against
the U-boats - both on patrol and as convoy escorts.
Apart from destroyers, anti-submarine forces were
organised into nine patrol and escort commands with
111 torpedo boat's, 35 submarines, 63 sloops and
gunboats, 153 submarine chasers and 734 armed
trawlers.

Although the French
nations' contribution to the Allied effort lay mainly
with their vast Army on the Western Front, they also
played their part in the war at sea and paid the
price accordingly. Losses included one
semi-dreadnought and three pre-dreadnought
battleships, four armoured and one protected cruiser,
twelve destroyers and fourteen submarines.

Tonnage
- standard displacement; Speed - designed
speed at standard displacement, rarely attained in
service; Main armament - sometimes changed as
the war progressed; secondary armament usually
changed; Complement - normal peace time.
Exceeded in war with consequent reduction in living
space and higher battle casualties; Year -
year or years class completed and normally entered
service. Only includes ships completed up to war's
end; Loss Positions - estimated from location
unless available from reliable sources; Casualties
- totals of men lost, or survivors plus saved,
will often exceed peacetime complements.

Jean
Bart, damaged 21st December 1914, southern
Adriatic Sea in
Strait of Otranto - torpedoed once by Austrian
"U-12". As
the French battlefleet was carrying out a sweep into
the Adriatic covering the transport of supplies to
Montenegro, they experienced the power of the
submarine to influence surface ship strategy and
tactics. Adm Lapeyrères unscreened flagship
"Jean Bart" was hit in the bow by a
torpedo, reportedly abreast the wine-store and just
before the forward magazine which remained intact.
Although she stayed afloat and reached Malta safely,
the French blockade of the Adriatic was moved south
of the Otranto Straits and thus became more distant.
Some sources, even recently published ones, describe
"Jean Bart" as sunk in this attack.In fact she survived, was demilitarised
in 1936 and renamed "Océan", scuttled at Toulon on 27 November 1942
and finally scrapped after the war.

Four of the Dantons
plus dreadnought "Provence" appeared off
Athens in December 1916 in a demonstration of power
which led to the Greek government accepting Allied
proposals for their conduct in the war

DANTON, 19th March 1917, Central
Mediterranean, off
SW Sardinia, 30 miles southwest of San Pietro island
(c 38.45N, 07.45E) - torpedoed by German
"U-64". Following
a refit "Danton" was sailing from Toulon,
southern France to the French base at Corfu off
western Greece to join the blockade of the Strait of
Otranto. Her normal complement was greatly exceeded
and 1,102 men were on board. Zig-zagging at the time
and apparently escorted by only one destroyer,
"U-64" (Lt Cdr Robert Moraht) successfully
fired her torpedoes but then lost trim, surfaced and
was attacked with depth charges by the escorting
"Massue". She escaped and
"Massue" went to the rescue of the
survivors. "Danton" took 45 minutes to founder and in that time
806 men were saved, but 296
were lost. Other sources place her loss around
20 miles from the Sardinian coast. They also vary on
the number of torpedo hits - one or two.

Four of the surviving
Dantons and three "Liberté"
class battleships formed the main element of Allied
forces in the Aegean Sea based at Mudros (Lemnos) in
1918

Voltaire, damaged night of 10th/11th
October 1918, Eastern Mediterranean, off S coast of Greece, near
Cerigotto island (or Antikythira) (c 36°00N,
23°00E) - torpedoed twice by German
"UB-48". Sailing
for the Allied northern Aegean base of Mudros, Lemnos
island after refit, "Voltaire" was only
lightly damaged by "UB-48" (Lt Cdr
Steinbauer - presumably the same Steinbauer who sank
"Gaulois" in "UB-47" two years
earlier)

Voltaire and
other "Dantons" of the Aegean Sea
Squadron joined the Allied Fleet that anchored off
Constantinople on the 13th November 1918

PRE-DREADNOUGHT BATTLESHIPS

August 1914 Strength (15)Nine in the Mediterranean with 1st Armée Navale

Bouvet took
part in the February and March 1915 naval attacks on
the Dardanelles forts and defences

BOUVET, 18th March 1915, Turkish waters, some 7 miles inside the Dardanelles, Eren Keui Bay - one Turkish mine. "Bouvet" was third
from left of the four French battleship squadron
(Rear-Adm Emile Guépratte) taking part in the Main
Naval Attack on the Dardanelles defences, this time
far enough in to bombard the Narrows at Chanak.
Around noon, as the Line A of British ships continued
bombarding at long range, the French Line B was
signalled to pass through for a more close-range
attack on the Narrows defences. Two of the French
ships ("Gaulois" and "Suffren"
below; the fourth battleship was
"Charlemagne") were badly damaged by return
shellfire, but worse was to come. As
"Bouvet" retired led by flagship
"Suffren" turning south towards the Asia
shore, she exploded, apparently hit in a magazine by
a heavy shell at 13.54hrs and capsized and sank in
two minutes taking most of her c 700 crew crew with
her. Reportedly 640 men including the captain were
killed and 21 saved. In fact she had been mined in an
area believed cleared by the Allies. The small
Turkish "Nusret" (365 tons) had laid a line
of just 20 mines on the night of the 8th March in an
area they noticed was used by the Allied warship for
manoeuvring. Only three had been swept by the British
minesweepers. Some sources, including modern ones
still credit her loss to a shell hit in a magazine
even though post-Great War research confirmed that a
mine sank "Bouvet".

The 1919
"Janes Fighting Ships" reported her
sunk by a shore torpedo fired from the White Cliffs
in the Dardanelles. Sources also differ on the name
of the commanding officer and include Capt Rageot and
Capt R de la Touche

This same short
line of mines also sank British battleship
"Irresistible", finished off the shellfire-damaged
"Ocean", and badly flooded
battlecruiser "Inflexible". On that day, out of 16
Allied capital ships taking part, three were sunk
and three heavily damaged in exchange for a few
Turkish guns destroyed. As with the submarine,
this was another example of how a small
"weapon system" could change history.
The small "Nusrets" feat led to
the Gallipoli landings, the subsequent Allied
failure to take Constantinople and relieve the
Russians, and as some historians suggest the
Russian Revolution and all that followed

Jauréguiberry
took part in the Gallipoli campaign

Masséna
was hulked in 1915 and scuttled off Cape
Helles, Gallipoli in November 1915 as breakwater for the
January 1916 evacuation

Charlemagne,
Gaulois both took part in the February and March
1915 naval attacks on the Dardanelles forts and
defences

Gaulois,damaged 18th
March 1915, Turkish waters, up to some 8 miles inside the Dardanelles - Turkish fixed and mobile land
batteries. "Gaulois"
was on the extreme left of the four French battleship
squadron taking part in the Main Naval Attack on the
Dardanelles defences which led to the loss of
"Bouvet" (see above). Badly holed below the
waterline in the early afternoon by the return fire,
"Gaulois" flooded rapidly and had to be
beached off the entrance to the Dardanelles on Rabbit
Island, north of Tenedos. After pumping out, patching
and refloating she went to Malta to be repaired.
Casualties were reportedly light

GAULOIS, sunk 27th
December 1916, Eastern Mediterranean, off S coast of Greece, 30
miles E of Cerigo island (or Kythira, Kithira,
Cythera) (36°30N, 23°45E) - torpedoed once by German
"UB-47".
"Gaulois" was on passage from the French
base at Corfu off the west coast of Greece around to
the Allied enclave at Salonika in the NW Aegean.
Rounding Greece on course for and 80 miles from the
island of Milos, "UB-47" (Lt Wolfgang
Steinbauer) penetrated her escort of one destroyer
and two trawlers and sank her. The explosion killed
four men, but she stayed afloat for 25 minutes before
sinking on an even keel. The rest of the crew of 631
was taken off by the escorting vessels

Suffren took
part in the February and March 1915 naval attacks on
the Dardanelles forts and defences

Suffren, damaged
18th
March 1915, Turkish waters up to some 8 miles inside the Dardanelles - Turkish fixed and mobile land
batteries.
"Suffren" (flagship of Rear-Adm Emile
Guépratte) was on the extreme right of the four
French battleship squadron taking part in the Main
Naval Attack on the Dardanelles defences which led to
the loss of "Bouvet" (see above). She was
damaged by the return fire. Hit around 14 times, a
large plunging shell struck forward and flooded some
compartments, and a 9.4in started a potentially
disastrous ammunition fire. She returned to Malta for
repairs with reportedly light casualties

SUFFREN,sunk night of
the 25th/26th November 1916, North Atlantic, 90 miles W of Portugal at the
longitude of the coastal Berlenga (or Burling)
islands (c 39.30N, 11-00W) - torpedoed
twice by German "U-52". Following service off Gallipoli
and Salonika, "Suffren" (Capt Guepin) was
sailing to Brest or Lorient (sources vary) on the
French Biscay coast for a badly needed refit. Damaged
at the Dardanelles and in a later collision her
engines were incapable of pushing her at more than 10
knots. Steaming at 9 knots in a heavy sea and without
escort, the torpedo is believed to have exploded her
magazines and she went down instantly; there were no
survivors from the crew of 648 men. "U-52"
(Lt Cdr Walther Hans) was on passage south from
Germany to Cattaro in the Adriatic for Mediterranean
operations. Other sources place her loss around 50
miles northwest of Lisbon.

Amiral Charner
& protected cruiser
"DEntrecasteaux" spent 1914
patrolling and bombarding the Syrian coast, and in
February 1915 took part in the defence of the Suez
Canal against Turkish land attack with other British
and French warships

AMIRAL
CHARNER,
8th February 1916, Eastern Mediterranean, west of Beirut, Turkish Syria
- torpedoed by German "U-21". "Amiral Charner" was
on patrol off the Syrian (now Lebanese) coast when
attacked by "U-21" (Lt Cdr Otto Hersing who
sank British battleships "Triumph" and
"Majestic" off Gallipoli ten months
earlier). She went down in only four minutes with the
loss of all her crew of 335 (or 374?) officers and
men, except for one single survivor.

DUPETIT-THOUARS, 7th August 1918, North Atlantic, 400 miles from Brest, western
France - torpedoed twice by German
"U-62".
"Dupetit-Thouars" had joined or was about
to join (sources vary) the escort of a 28 ship convoy
from New York for the last stage of its voyage to
Brest when attacked at dusk by "U-62" (Lt
Cdr Ernst Hashagen). She went down in about 20
minutes with small loss of life; most of her crew
were picked up by escorting American destroyers

KLÉBER, 27th June 1917, off Pointe de
St-Matthieu in the Iroise entrance to Brest, western France (c 48.15N, 04.45W)
- mine laid by German "UC-61". After service off Gallipoli and
in the Aegean, "Kléber" was refitted at
Bordeaux in 1916 before sailing to Dakar, French West
Africa as flagship of the 6th Squadron. Now returning
to France, she was sunk with the loss of 42 (or 38?)
men; most of her crew being saved by escorting
destroyers

Amiral Aube
took part in the July 1918 occupation of northern
Russia to protect Allied stockpiles from Bolshevist
forces. With two destroyers, she also represented the
French Navy at the November 1918 surrender of the
German High Seas Fleet

LÉON
GAMBETTA, night of 26th/27th April 1915, Central
Mediterranean, 15
miles south of Cape Santa Maria di Leuca, SE tip of
Italy in the Ionian Sea (c 39.30N,
18.15E) - torpedoed twice by Austrian
"U-5". "Léon
Gambetta" was part of the French Fleet based at
Malta blockading the the Austrian Navy in the
Adriatic, usually from a position south of the Strait
of Otranto. At this time the blockade line was moved
further north because of expected Austrian naval
activity - the Allies were negotiating with the
Italians which shortly led to them declaring war on
Austria-Hungary. In spite of the growing threat from
Austrian and now German U-boats in the Mediterranean,
the armoured cruiser was patrolling unescorted at a
reported seven knots on a clear, calm night just to
the south of the Otranto Straits when she was hit by
"U-5" (Lt Cdr Ritter von Trapp, later made
famous when his story was partly told in the stage
musical and film "The Sound of Music").
"Léon Gambetta" sank in just 10 minutes.
Out of 821 men on board, 684 including Rear-Adm
Sénès, commander of the 2nd Light Division were
lost. There were 137 survivors. The French cruiser
patrol line was moved south to the longitude of
Cephalonia, western Greece. Other sources place her
loss 20 miles off Cape Leuca.

DEntrecasteaux
& armoured cruiser "Amiral Charner"
spent 1914 patrolling and bombarding the Syrian
coast, and in February 1915 took part in the defence
of the Suez Canal against Turkish land attack with
other British and French warships

CHÂTEAURENAULT, 14th December 1917, off north
Cephalonia, Ionian Sea (38°15N, 20°22E) - 2 torpedoes from German coastal
minelayer 'UC-38'.
Sailing as a fast transport carrying troops between
Taranto and Itea in support of the Allied Army in
Salonika, the old cruiser was sunk just before
entering the passage through to the Corinth Canal.
Escorting destroyers 'Mameluk' and 'Lansquenet' sink
"UC-38", and saved 1,162 lives, most of the
crew and troops

CASABIANCA, night of the 3rd/4th June
1915, Turkey,
off Smyrna - own mines. The Allies attempted to blockade Smyrna
and close off the Gulf of Smyrna with minefields.
During the operation, "Casabianca" blew up
and sank on one of her own mines.

CASSINI, 28th February 1917, Central
Mediterranean
between Corsica and Sardinia in Straits of Bonificio
- German
mine laid by "UC-35". She was first thought to have been
torpedoed by "UC-35", but was more likely
lost on the U-boats mines. Some sources give
the date as the 20th February 1917.

Originally a torpedo
cruiser (or torpedo boat carrier) eventually
converted to seaplane carrier at Toulon in 1912 with
4 to 8 seaplanes. Served from August 1914 with the
1st Armée Navale based at Malta, but transferred to
Suez where her Nieuport floatplanes played an
important reconnaissance role during the early 1915
Turkish attack on the Canal. From March to May 1915,
she was part of the French squadron including
pre-dreadnoughts "Bouvet",
"Charlemagne", "Gaulois" and
"Suffren" that joined the Royal Navy in the
naval attack on the Dardanelles. Later that year she
was re-equipped with Franco-British Aviation (FBA)
flying boats, but for the rest of the war served at
various times mainly as submarine tender and command
ship.

Converted
at Port Said in late 1915, and commissioned January
1916. Equipped with Nieuport floatplanes and later
FBA flying boats. Served in the eastern Mediterranean
area including the Aegean Sea and Levant, and took
part in the mainly French Navy intervention off
Athens in December 1916/January 1917

"Pas de
Calais" was commissioned in July 1915 and based
at Cherbourg; "Nord" in June 1916 and based
at Dunkirk. Both were equipped with FBA flying boats
and carried out Channel patrols until taken out of
aviation service in 1917

YATAGAN, 3rd November 1916, English
Channel off
Dieppe, France - collision with British
steamship 'Teviot'. "Yatagan" spent the war as a
fishery protection vessel and was on these duties
when rammed and sunk. Some sources date her loss on
the 4th November, suggesting the night of the
3rd/4th.

Carabine, damaged date unknown, Mediterranean - collision with with British
steamship "Mentor". Towed to Palermo, Sicily and patched
up for voyage to Bizerta, Tunisia where she was
stricken

CATAPULTE, 18th May 1918, Mediterranean near Bizerta, Tunisia -
collision with British steamship "Warrimoo". Other sources place her loss
location further west off Bone, Algeria

MOUSQUET, 28th October 1914, Malay waters, off entrance to Penang
harbour in Strait of Malacca (5-38’N,
100-25’E) - gunfire of German cruiser
"Emden".
On patrol off north entrance to Penang harbour during
the Allied ocean-wide hunt for the German cruiser
"Emden". Among the ships at anchor was
Russian cruiser "Zhemchug". As
"Emden" totally surprised and sank her,
"Mousquet" returned to the sound of gunfire
and was herself destroyed by the
"Emden’s" guns around 07.44hrs; many
of her crew died including the CO, Lt Théroinne

BRANLEBAS, 30th September 1915, southern
North
Sea, off Nieuport,
West Flanders, Belgium - mined. Serving with the North Sea flotillas.
The 1919 "Jane’s Fighting Ships"
locates her loss further west off Dunkirk, France

ETENDARD, 25th April 1917, English Channel off Dunkirk - torpedoed by German
destroyers. Blown
up and sunk with all hands

CARABINIER, 13th/15th November 1918, Eastern
Mediterranean off
Latakia, Syria - stranded and scuttled under Turkish
gunfire. Ran
aground on the 13th and destroyed two days later on
the 15th, even though the Ottoman Empire had formally
surrendered to the Allies

FANTASSIN, 5th June 1916, Central
Mediterranean off
the island of Fano, south of the Straits of Otranto
in the Ionian Sea - collision with French
destroyer "Mameluk'. Rammed at night during a submarine hunt,
"Fantassin" was finished off by gunfire
from the older destroyer 'Fauconneau'.

BOUTEFEU, 15th May 1917, southern Adriatic Sea off Brindisi, SE Italy - mines
laid by German "UC-25". In the 15th May 1917
"Otranto Action", Austrian cruisers raided
the drifters patrolling the Otranto anti-U-boat
barrage. In support of them the Austrians and Germans
carried out a number of actions including laying
U-boat mines off Brindisi. Protecting the British
drifters was a patrol of one Italian and three French
destroyers (less the "Boutefeu" with engine
trouble). Allied warships, including two British
light cruisers sailed to intercept the Austrian
forces and the "Dartmouth" was torpedoed
and badly damaged by the German "UC-25"
which had already laid the mines off Brindisi. As
"Boutefeu" sailed to assist, she struck one
of the mines just after clearing the Brindisi boom,
was blown in half and sank within two minutes.

DAGUE, 24th February 1915, southern Adriatic Sea in Antivari Roads - drifting mine. "Dague", on duty off
the port of Antivari through which Allied supplies
passed for Montenegro, was the first French warship
lost in the Adriatic

FAULX, 18th April 1918, Southern Adriatic Sea in the Straits of Otranto -
rammed by French destroyer "Mangani". Both destroyers were part of a
force of seven or eight Italian and French destroyers
escorting three Italian battleships from Brindisi to
Taranto. In the Strait of Otranto,
"Mangani’s" steering broke down and
she collided with and sank "Faulx". An hour
later in the Ionian Sea, the Italian destroyer
'Carini' rammed and sank 'Benedetto Cairoli' (some
sources date the Italian collision on the 10th)

FOURCHE, 23rd June 1916, southern Adriatic Sea, east of Otranto in the Strait
of Otranto - 1 torpedo from Austrian
"U-15". "Fourche"
was in company with Italian AMC 'Città di
Messina" when the latter was hit by
"U-15" and sank. The destroyer attacked
with depth-charges, and believing the submarine
destroyed, started to pick up survivors from the AMC.
Hit by another torpedo, the Brindisi-based
"Fourche" was cut in half

Bisson took
part with Italian AMC 'Città di Messina" in the
sinking of Austrian submarine "U-3" in the
Strait of Otranto on the 13th August 1915. In May
1917, with "Bouclier" class destroyers
"Boutefeu" (sunk), "Cimiterre"
and "Commandant Rivière" she took part in
the Allied naval action which followed the Austrian
cruiser attack on the Otranto Barrage drifter line

Mangani and the
British "Shark" on the 10th November 1918,
were the first Allied ships to anchor off
Constantinople on passage through to the Black Sea

RENAUDIN, 18th March 1916, southern Adriatic Sea, off Durazzo (Durres), Albania
- torpedoed by Austrian "U-6". On a sweep from Brindisi
across the Adriatic with other Allied ships,
"Renaudin" was hit by one of the few
Austrian submarines available for operations. As with
other French destroyer losses, she also was cut in
two.

SAPHIR, 15th January 1915, Turkish waters in the Dardanelles Narrows,
off Nagara Point - probably ran aground. A month after British submarine
"B.11" reached almost as far as Chanak in
the Dardanelles and sank guardship
"Mesudiye", "Saphir" was the
first to try to break right through to the Sea of
Marmara. She passed Chanak and got as far as Nagara
Point against the fierce currents and after passing
under ten lines of mines before her luck ran out. At
this point, sources vary. She probably ran aground
trying to avoid the minefields, surfaced and and was
either scuttled or destroyed by shore batteries. In
some sources she was mined. Many of her crew were
lost, reportedly 14 men killed and 13 survivors.
Other sources date her loss on the 17th January 1915

Of the four unhandy
French boats that attempted to reach the Sea of
Marmara in 1915, only one made it -
"Turquoise" (following). Two more -
"Joule" and "Mariotte" - were
lost trying to break through before
"Turquoise" succeeded

TURQUOISE, 30th October 1915, Turkish waters in the Dardanelles Narrows,
off Nagara Point - probably ran aground. After successfully reaching
the Sea of Marmara, "Turquoise" (Lt Ravenel
or Ravene?) was forced to turn back for her base at
Mudros in the Aegean because of mechanical defects.
Returning through the Dardanelles, the strong
currents ran her aground on the southern shore at
Nagara Point right under a Turkish fort. To save the
lives of his crew, Lt Ravenel surrendered and
"Turquoise" was captured intact. All the
crew of 25 were saved and taken prisoner.
Unfortunately confidential papers and charts were not
destroyed, and a notebook or chart (sources vary)
revealed information about a rendezvous with the
British "E-20". A week later, on the 5th
November "E-20" was ambushed and sunk by
German U-boat "UB-14". In other accounts,
she was damaged by Turkish shore batteries and
beached; ran aground and hit; or sunk by the gunfire
of Turkish warships. Her date of loss is also given
as the 31st October.

Turquoise was
refloated on the 3rd November 1915 and incorporated
into the Turkish Navy as 'Mustadieh Ombashi', but
never recommissioned.

FLORÉAL, 2nd August 1918, northern Aegean Sea - collision with British armed
boarding steamer "Hazel". Two locations are given - off
Salonika, NE Greece or off Mudros on the island of
Lemnos; all 26 crew were saved

FRESNEL, 5th December 1915, southern Adriatic Sea off the mouth of the Bojana
River, northern Albania - ran aground and destroyed by
Austrian forces.
On patrol off the Albanian coast, "Fresnel"
ran aground at night in heavy fog on a sandbank off
the Bojana. Her crew made every effort to free her
but without success. At daylight she was sighted by
an Austrian light force including cruiser
"Novara" and four destroyers returning from
a raid along the coast between Bojano and San
Giovanni de Medua (Shengjin), north Albania where
they sank a number of ships. Destroyer 'Warasdiner'
(or 'Varasdinier') took off
"Fresnel’s" crew and finished her with
gunfire. All 26 crew were saved. Other sources give
two varying accounts of her loss - (1)
"Fresnel" was surprised further north off
Cattaro by Austrian aircraft, attacked by the
'Warasdiner', beached, abandoned and blown up; and
(2) torpedoed further south off Durazzo by Austrian
destroyers.

MONGE, 29th December 1915, south Adriatic Sea, south of Cattaro (Kotor) - Austrian
warships. An
Austrian force of new scout cruiser 'Helgoland' and
five 'Tatra' class destroyers sailed from the advance
southern Austrian base of Cattaro late on the 28th to
attack Durazzo and interfere with the evacuation of
Serbian forces. On passage they sighted the
"Monge" early on the 29th on patrol to the
south of Cattaro. Destroyer "Balaton"
opened fire, rammed and sank her. Before the Austrian
operation was over, two of the "Tatra"
destroyers were lost on mines. The 1919
"Jane’s Fighting Ships" attributes her
loss to ramming by the cruiser "Helgoland"
off Cattaro.

PRAIRIAL, 28th/29th April 1918, English Channel off Le Havre, northern France
- collision with British steamship 'Tropic'. She was run down and lost on
the night of the 28th/29th April;19 men lost and
seven survivors. Some sources date her loss on the
25th.

Bernoulli took
part in the Allied naval action in May 1917 which
followed the Austrian cruiser attack on the Otranto
drifter line, firing at the escaping destroyer
"Balaton" but missing

BERNOULLI, 13th February 1918, southern Adriatic Sea, off Durazzo (Durres), Albania
- probably Austrian mines. Date of loss is approximate; sunk with
all hands. The 1919 "Jane’s Fighting
Ships" attributes her loss to an Austrian U-boat
on the 13th February 1918.

CURIE, 20th December 1914, northern Adriatic Sea, in Pola naval base - damaged by
defences and scuttled. "Curie" (Lt Dupetit-Thouars,
descendant of the Napoleonic war admiral), was caught
in the Pola nets trying to break into the main
Austrian base. She was refloated and recommissioned
into the Austrian navy as "U-14". Returned
to France in 1918

FOUCAULT, 15th September 1916, central Adriatic Sea, ten miles off Cattaro (Kotor)
- bombed by Austrian Navy flying boats. Caught by flying boats or
seaplanes L-132 and L-135, "Foucault" was
the first submarine sunk at sea by aircraft. The two
aircraft landed, took the survivors on board and
waited for a torpedo-boat to arrive.

JOULE, 1st May 1915, Turkish waters, in the Dardanelles Narrows - Turkish mines. On the 25th April, the
first Allied submarine, Australian "AE-2",
broke through to the Sea of Marmara although she only
survived until the 30th. Next day, and following the
loss of "Saphir" in mid January,
"Joule" was the next French boat to try and
fail. She attempted to negotiate the ten lines of
mines guarding the final few miles to Chanak, but
detonated one or more and was lost with all hands

MARIOTTE, 27th July 1915, Turkish waters in the Dardanelles, off Chanak
in the Narrows - Turkish net defences and shore
batteries. By now
two French boats ("Saphir" and
"Joule") had been lost trying to break
through to the Sea of Marmara. Setting out on the
26th, "Mariotte" sailed to join the
successful British "E.14" now on her third
patrol in the Marmara. "Mariotte" safely
passed under the lines of mines, but off Chanak was
trapped in the anti-submarine net newly installed by
the Germans. Forced to surface, she was shelled by
the shore defences and scuttled. One source gives the
date as the 25th July. British "E-7" was
stopped and sunk by the same nets in September 1915

Gustave
Zédé, 24th
August 1916, Adriatic area - battery explosion. Gray
reports her sunk with 4 men dead and 36 survivors.
She was not stricken until 1937, and was presumably
refloated and returned to service. Also in other
sources, Gustave Zédé was steam-powered
until after the war.

ARIANE, 19th June 1917, central
Mediterranean,
north of Bizerta, North Africa - torpedoed once by German coastal
minelayer "UC-22". "Ariane" was off the entrance
to the Gulf of Bizerta undergoing sea-trials after
repairs when she was sunk

DIANE, 11th February 1918, North
Atlantic, off La Pallice, western France in Bay of Biscay - internal explosion, cause unknown. Escorting a
four-masted sailing ship, "Diane" went down
at night with the loss of all her crew. The 1919
"Jane’s Fighting Ships" places her
loss around the 10th March 1918 in the English
Channel.